Lincoln Woman Sentenced for Transferring Firearms to a Felon

United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Kylie Thompson, 25, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard to a term of 18 months' imprisonment following her conviction for transferring firearms to a felon, also known as a straw purchase. After she completes her prison sentence, Thompson will also serve three years on supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

While investigating a shooting that happened in Lincoln on July 8, 2021, Lincoln Police Department investigators located a cell phone conversation in which Thompson's boyfriend, Chase Bass, talked about providing a gun to a convicted felon. That led to a firearms and narcotics investigation involving Thompson making straw purchases of firearms for Bass.

Investigators obtained firearms purchase records showing that Thompson bought 12 handguns between March 18 and July 15, 2021, at various locations in Lancaster County, Nebraska. After purchasing these firearms, Thompson transferred some of these firearms to Bass who was a felon, and thus not permitted to possess firearms. Bass was also serving a term of post-release supervision, following prison sentence, as a result of a Lancaster County conviction for possession of a short shotgun.

On July 16, 2021, Bass was arrested in Cass County on an outstanding warrant for violating his post-release supervision. Thompson was also present, but she was not arrested at that time. Bass was in possession of a distribution amount of methamphetamine, baggies containing methamphetamine residue, at least two functioning firearms, $1,347 cash, ammunition, drug ledgers, phones, gun magazines, pipes, and a scale. Investigators found six empty gun boxes in Thompson's car. Bass was in the passenger seat of this car when arrested. The gun boxes in the car matched up with six of the firearm purchases Thompson had made in Lincoln between March 18 - July 31, 2021. Bass had a notebook in his possession containing his hand-written notes describing the firearms that were previously in the boxes found in the car. Bass was carrying a backpack containing ammunition and a pistol Thompson had purchased the day before at a Lincoln pawn shop. Bass also had keys to a safe located in Thompson's car. Inside the safe investigators found a handgun with 12 rounds in the magazine. The box for this gun was found in the trunk and was the same handgun Thompson had purchased at a gun store in Lancaster County on July 1, 2021.

During the course of this investigation, investigators recovered three of the 12 firearms purchased by Thompson. Two of the three recovered were located in Bass's belongings, while the third was recovered in an alleyway in downtown Lincoln on July 14, 2021. Thompson was arrested for making straw purchases of firearms on September 29, 2021.

Following his arrest, Bass bonded out of jail. Bass was again arrested in Lincoln on September 28, 2021, after being federally indicted in this case. At that time Bass possessed at least 17 grams of actual methamphetamine, a handgun, ammunition, baggies, a drug ledger, and scales.

A forensic scientist at the Nebraska State Patrol Crime Lab confirmed the presence of at least 8 grams of actual methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance, in the suspected methamphetamine seized from Bass on July 16, 2021, and at least 17 grams of actual methamphetamine seized from Bass on September 28, 2021.

On November 29, 2022, Bass was sentenced to a term of 170 months' imprisonment following his convictions for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. After he completes his prison sentence, Bass will also serve four years on supervised release.

This case was investigated by the Lincoln Police Department, the Cass County Sheriff's Office, the Nebraska State Patrol, and the FBI. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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